Village Head's Debauchery

Knight Mayril swiftly swung her crude sword, dissecting the root in two.

Several more roots shot out, but with the forces of the Bastion of the Wailing Gnarled-fewer

than a hundred nymphs-the roots were swiftly cut apart, allowing them to continue advancing undeterred.

Orion was surprised by the attacks, wondering why they were happening in the first place. This was, after all, the nymphs' home, and many tree nymphs were among the forces present. He couldn't understand why they couldn't just control the trees, preventing them from attacking until they arrived at their destination.

Could it be that these trees were indeed as unique as he had imagined?

Orion pondered this.

Fifi had come to the same conclusion.

Not only had she worked in the Village before the inception of Paradise, but she also had tree nymph sisters and a stepdaughter she had taken in as her own. It would be strange if she hadn't thought the same.

Soon, they passed through a barrier.

Orion and Fifi were taken aback; they hadn't even realized they were walking through a barrier until they had passed through it with the rest of the force. The environment before them was similar, with ghostly white twisted trees and roots stretching out for miles, much like those outside. The critical difference was that this area was devoid of water.

The ocean had been pushed back and restrained by a powerful barrier, fortifying the surrounding area.

In other words, there was land on the seabed.

Orion marvelled at how powerful the barrier must have been for him not to sense it.

He realized that if he had unknowingly passed through such a strong barrier, it was possible he could walk into a poisonous trap next if his keen senses failed him again. This heightened his suspicion of the Bastion of the Wailing Gnarled.

"Be careful. Keep an eye out for even the slightest change," Orion sent a message to Fifi through the 'Eternal Heart Covenant' art.

Although Orion trusted Seraphina's inventions, it was better not to be overconfident. He wanted to ensure no one could overhear their conversation before speaking.

"Okay," Fifi responded, her tone firm.

They walked for about forty-six minutes before arriving at their destination.

It was an enormous fortress with walls spanning hundreds of meters in height. Made from unknown materials, the walls were ghostly white as if trying to blend into the surroundings despite their massive structure. In front of them was a protruding fortress section, sealed by enormous metallic gates tens of meters tall and several meters wide.

It would take more than ten people to open each gate unless someone with significant strength handled them.

Knight Mayril, Orion, Fifi, and the forces of the Bastion of the Wailing Gnarled halted a slight distance from the gates.

Orion noticed a few figures at the top of the walls, peering down at them before withdrawing. Suddenly, the right side of the gates creaked open.

A terrible noise echoed through the surroundings, indicating that the gate hadn't received proper maintenance.

Two rows of nymph warriors, each dressed in bulging pauldrons and breastplates identical to the forces beside him, marched out in a military column. They halted and turned to face each other, hands firmly gripping their weapons.

A nymph, guarded by four others-two behind and two in front-stepped out from the enormous gates and stopped at the edge of the column.

Orion took a closer look at the nymph who had emerged and noticed that, apart from the tree nymphs and those with icy features, there was another kind of nymph with smooth, hardened features and jagged shoulders. Despite the challenge of seeing through their armour, their dual skin tones were distinct, as those of the other nymphs.

Knight Mayril turned and bowed respectfully to Orion and Fifi. "Welcome to the Bastion of the Wailing Gnarled," she said. "Please wait here. I'll be back shortly."

Orion and Fifi nodded in understanding. They knew she needed to make arrangements before they could be allowed in.

Knight Mayril sighed in relief, turned, and walked towards the enormous gate. She quickly arrived beside the nymph at the centre of the four guarding her.

"Your Sovereigness," Knight Mayril greeted, bowing.

The Sovereigness looked at her curiously and responded, "It seems I underestimated your capabilities, Knight Mayril. For you to return unharmed and with so many of your forces intact must mean the mission was a success. With such tremendous merit, I will ensure you are promoted." Her tone was filled with praise, and her expression was full of awe.

Even the surrounding warriors couldn't help but flicker their gazes toward Knight Mayril, a mix of curiosity, confusion, and bewilderment in their eyes.

Knight Mayril immediately shook her head. "The mission was unsuccessful, Sovereigness. King Izak is alive and well," she said, biting her lip.

A heavy silence enveloped the area.

Knight Mayril trembled in fear.

"I remember that King Izak had ingested the poison before I left, leaving the matter in your hands. Even if you failed to kill him, which would be understandable, given the vast difference in strength, considering the poison, he shouldn't have escaped unscathed," the Sovereigness said, her cold tone causing Knight Mayril's hair to stand on end.

The soldiers couldn't help but glare at her with hostility.

"The mission was going as planned. However, we found ourselves..." Knight Mayril gestured towards Orion and Fifi.

The Sovereigness narrowed her eyes at them. She hadn't initially paid much attention to them, assuming they were spoils of battle. However, on closer inspection, she noticed that the two individuals weren't restrained by the forces but were surprisingly guarded by them.

At first, the Sovereigness was furious, but as Knight Mayril continued to explain the details of everything that had transpired, the Sovereigness's eyes widened in shock. She froze in place, her words stuck in her throat.

The soldiers around her couldn't help but tremble slightly and swallow hard. Previously, they were disappointed and displeased with Knight Mayril's words, thinking she had either betrayed them or was too incompetent to handle the task assigned to her.

But after hearing her explanation, a heavy dread settled over them.

"...Is everything you've just said true, Knight Mayril? You know if it's false, your punishment will be far worse than death," the Sovereigness asked, having regained her composure, her firm gaze fixed on Knight Mayril.

"Yes, it's all true. I would never lie or do anything to put the Bastion of the Wailing Gnarled in harm's way," Knight Mayril swiftly replied, nodding in affirmation.

"You've returned with such dangerous individuals to our territory, and you still dare to say that," the Sovereigness responded, her tone filled with irritation.

She understood Knight Mayril's complicated situation and mentally applauded her for her

actions.

However, the risk of bringing these mysterious and dangerous strangers into their territory was too risky. It would have been much wiser to send a messenger to inform them beforehand or to escort the strangers to the Bastion of the Ashen Hope under the pretence of preparing more suitable arrangements for their arrival while claiming she was on her way to personally

welcome them.

Then, they could have assessed the situation before taking any action.

However, it was too late to turn back now.

"Forgive me, Sovereigness," Knight Mayril said, bowing even deeper. She might have fallen

to the ground if not for her protruding breastplate.

The Sovereigness ignored her plea. "Lead the way. Let's go properly greet these mysterious

travellers," she said.

Knight Mayril quickly straightened her posture and turned to lead them forward.

The four stony nymphs continued to guard the Sovereigness as she approached them.

Orion and Fifi observed the discussion unfolding between Knight Mayril and the icy nymph,

who appeared to be the leader.

[ Energy Level - 1,600 BEM.] After seeing the nymph's base energy measurement, Orion toggled off the energy reading function. Astonishingly, her strength was even higher than King Izak's.

This made Orion wonder how the nymphs in this pocket dimension could harness Vylkr energy

to grow stronger while the tree nymphs in Paradise could not. He was one of the few aware of the situation and intended to discover its secrets.

This was one of the reasons he had decided to follow the Bastion of the Wailing Gnarled.

Soon, Knight Mayril and the Soverigness arrived before the group.

The icy nymph, guarded by the stony nymphs, had an upper deep purple skin tone. Her hair was of a similar colour, tied in a low knot, each strand thick and visible to the naked eye. Resting atop her head was a dull golden crown with far fewer jewels and embellishments than

King Izak's.

She wore a similarly protruding breastplate and full-plated armour, heavily inscribed with enchantments, unlike the lighter enchantments on the forces Orion had followed. Her face bore the marks of someone who had seen life's harshness, much like King Izak and some of the warriors Orion had encountered.

A greatsword hung on her back, and, combined with the natural height of a nymph, gave her an imposing presence.

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